Hi Rob,
I have a PIII 450 with a GeForce 2 MX. I used to have a V3 previously.
If Nascar 4 is your game, then the GeForce is the way to go. This is so
because your system isn't as fast in processing power, and the hardware
T&L on the GeForce really speeds things up in Nascar 4, in comparison to
the Voodoos 4/5 that do not have an on card T&L unit. Another problem
with the Voodoos is that they aren't properly supported anymore and that
may cause driver issues in the near future. In non T&L games, though,
the V5 might prove faster and more beautiful (FSAA) than the GeForce.
I remember doing some comparisons a while ago in the demo of Nascar 4
once with T&L turned on/off, and it was something like 25 fps vs. 38 fps
on my machine (no cars). A more powerful processor wouldn't see such a
dramatic difference (on an extremely powerful PC the T&L could actually
be slower).
You will not see a dramatic improvement in performance in racing the AI
in Nascar 4, though, as that part is more processor than graphics card
limited. But in online play and practice mode there should be an
improvement. It's hard to say what will happen with GPL, as the GeForce
does not support Glide (which is faster), but you can still keep the
Voodoo for Glide games as it should in principle be able to coexist with
the GeForce. I didn't notice any drops in GPL performance from the V3
myself, but no improvements either.
Also, the Vooodoos before 4 and 5 do not support textures larger than
256x256, and in this respect switching to any new graphics card would
improve image quality in Nascar 4.
All in all, a GeForce MX card should be a nice match to your processor
and should give you quite a boost in Nascar 4 and other newer games. It
kept me from a major upgrade, which can be delayed now until the next
big thing comes out :).
-Gregor
> Can anyone advise me on what sort of improvement I could expect to see by
> adding an AGP 64MB Geforce2 MX card to my system? My current system specs
> are: Pentium II 450 (DELL), 128MB ram, 12MB Voodoo II (PCI). Nascar 4 at the
> 'default' settings (800 x 600, 43 cars, 12 ahead, 3 behind, Mirrors medium,
> World detail 50%, etc.) currently runs from 14-24 fps (occasionally dips
> down to 7-9 fps).
> The graphics upgrade is temporary until I upgrade the whole system next
> year. I am happy with the performance of GPL on my system (but of course
> hope to have improved performance with the new card), but N4 definitely
> pushes the system far more.
> My only other option is to try and source a PCI Voodoo 5 card. Would I
> achieve better performance in Nascar 4 & GPL with this upgrade in comparison
> to the Geforce upgrade?
> Any advice (except telling me to upgrade the entire system!) would be
> appreciated. TIA.
> --
> Rob.
